Inviting guest bedroom

Lots that is clever about this serene guest bedroom.  The shared central bedside table saves on space but what pulls the scheme all together is the size and layout of the six prints over the beds.  Plenty of reading material in the bottom of the bedside too.

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Image: Antonio Martins

Back to my desk

I started back to school yesterday - first day of my Interior Styling course and the last six months of my two year project to get myself some qualifications in interior design. Seems like we have a great group in the class and lots of young talent so I am excited to see the designs everyone will come up with through the course.

I thought this was an interesting take on the home office / library. I love the shining black floor and the detail in the library glazing. Our study at home is still in 'keep the door closed to hide the mess' mode - a bit of transparency might be just the thing to get me organised !

Image: Douglas Friedman

The one large cushion idea

This New York apartment was the subject of an interesting post on Little Green Notebook about how much a decorator should be paid. I think the designer did a good job - you can see the before and after shots here. I'm clipping it in to Folder of Ideas because I really like the one big cushion idea. Especially in small spaces and if you have a compact elegant piece of furniture like that little cream sofa less is definitely more. Here is an earlier version of the one big cushion idea in a bedroom.

Image: via LGN

Clubber

This is another of my favourite finds from the recent Furniture fair in Sydney. This is the Clubber sofa and armchair designed by Per Weiss for Innovation. I sat on both and they were very comfortable - often sofas that look good aren't quite right in the comfort stakes. Ideal for apartment living the sofa converts into a sofa bed and if you buy an armchair without the arms, you can fold it flat to make a chaise. And they are very competitively priced to boot !

Images: Innovation

Book Club

I'm off to book club tonight - although some would suggest that it is more a dinner and wine club but I beg to differ - I've read my book this month !! This is the Penguin Wine Hod by UK designer Steuart Padwick. The perfect little side table for those prone to leaving full wine glasses on the floor and then inadvertently kicking them across the room. The 2009 model shown first has four little wine glass slots which would be ideal for a small apartment or balcony.

Images: Steuart Padwick

Healing herbs

I cut my right hand badly on Thursday last which really slowed me down for a few days so no time for blogging. My left handed hair and makeup was looking a bit dodgy too over the weekend !! Anyway had to spend time this week researching the colour psychology for green which conveniently is a very healing and calming colour. My assignment was to create a magazine page of green objects and fabrics and this is one of my little finds - the herb garden by royalvkb, $79 from Top3 by design.

Spite

When it comes to tables I am a confirmed 'leg' woman. The more elegant the wood turning the better. This is the 'Spite' table by Derek Welsh of Scotland. The name is a bit sharp (he has also designed a table called 'Malice' ) but I love how it touches the ground so lightly - always a good consideration in smaller spaces where heavier pieces can block up the space too much.

Image: Derek Welsh

Clever

Occasionally I include a post about a decorative item or homewares - usually when they strike me as so innovative or special that I can't pass them by without saving a photo. So here is the Four Vase by Muuto.

How many times have you found that your flowers are just too long, or too short, or you have too many or too few for the vases you own. I find this happens alot with tulips - you need lots for impact but they are quite fat and short so display can be a challenge. Enter the Four Vase which increases your chances four fold of having a suitable container. It comes in about five colours including clear and white inners. Muuto products are widely available here is Australia, see www.muuto.com for stockists.

Image: Muuto

Embrace

I love this table designed by John Green. John Green is a recently qualified designer based in the UK with more than one prize winning design under his belt if you read his bio. Embrace is a new take on that oldie but goodie - the nest of tables. When the two tables are clinched in their 'embrace' the table is designed to hold books or whatever you like underneath and magazines on the sides. When you need two tables the you just slide out the bottom section and flip it over. Ingenious.

Images: John Green

Mirror Mirror

Jim Franco's photographs were posted by the Deco Detective a week or so ago and I had to pluck out this one. Love the idea that a coat rack can also serve as a picture rail and love the little mirror which is an idea I am going to copy as soon as I can find a similar little gem to hang on my hooks in my back hallway. It is a personal goal of mine to get better at checking my appearance before heading out the door (I don't always remember and then look at myself in horror as I pass a shop window). I'm thinking a little mirror like this is just the ticket.

Image: Jim Franco via Deco Detective

NAL

This is the NAL or 'not a lamp' coat stand from Vaugh Shannon a Dublin based design duo. Clarity, functionality and wit in the design of their products is the core aim according to their homepage.

The top photo is the more recent shot and I prefer the cross base to the round one below. I have had the bottom image for a while but had saved it as a Vaughn Shannon design and when I went looking for their site couldn't find it and thought, to my dismay, that the credit crunch had got them. But no, just a typo on my part.

I am quite a tidy person and the NAL appeals because the hidden hooks make the coat rack appear so much neater and streamlined. Great for a smaller space in my view.

Images: Vaugh Shannon

From small things ...

Excuse the tiny picture but it is appropriate in some ways given that this is one of those tiny sinks that you often find tucked into bathrooms where space is tight. I kept the photo because I thought the choice of mirror was very clever giving great impact in a small space.

Image: via House and Garden